It wasn't only Dundee based fanzines that were on sale locally in the 70's & 80's, you could also get others from around Scotland, and the occasional national one.
A good example of the latter, is this one called, Collusion, which I picked up in 1982.
It is a slightly different kind of fanzine, in that it was put together by professionals rather than local enthusiasts, but although all those who contributed to Collusion were well established music authorities already working as journalists, musicians, critics and authors, they did do this fanzine in their spare time without any financial backing.
You may be familiar with some of the names from the likes of NME, Face & Wire - Steve Beresford, David Toop, Lol Coxhill, Sue Steward, Simon Frith, Nick Kimberley and a few others.
The music covered in it is what we now call world music, but back then some of these music genres were just starting to become heard about. You may recall this was around the time the WOMAD organisation began.
The wide variety of music featured includes - African, Asian film music, Cajun, jazz, Japanese Enka, surf, 50's pop, reggae, gospel, and a few other bits & pieces.
There is also a top notch 4 page article written by fellow Taysider, Stuart Cosgrove, about the Wigan Casino and Northern Soul scene.
So Collusion was a great wee read. No idea how many were issued, this is the only one I have and I can't find much info on the net about it, but it is a good reminder of the kind of material that was on the go in those days before the internet.
The tricky bit was, trying to find any of the recordings in Dundee's record shops!!
Here's a compact little interview with Grant McNally, who tells how Jih first began way back in 1983 in London, with a little assistance from Billy Mackenzie.
The Gladmag was a Dundee University publication, sold to the public to help raise funds during Rag Week.
An ordinary, everyday scene of folk going about their business along Reform Street on 3rd December 1983.
The top picture is the "image" Billy MacKenzie is most known for, the beret wearing, cultured European look. Although the photo is from the 80's, I've no idea where he would have got those slip-ons from back then - they are exactly the same kind I wore at primary school in the 60's!
Early 80's fanzine, Deadbeat, covered the alternative Scottish music scene in the main, so the Dundee stuff was competing with Edinburgh, Glasgow & Aberdeen for mag space, although our local bands and gigs were well represented.
It wasn't only Dundee based fanzines that were on sale locally in the 70's & 80's, you could also get others from around Scotland, and the occasional national one.
Oink hit the shelves in 1986, and although the comic was aimed at youngsters, the rebellious humour of it's content soon had it become a favourite read of student types and the like. It's not surprising Oink grabbed the attention of an older crowd because it was put together by a team of UK's top comedy writers.
It's the turn of Cliff Richard this time to be set upon by the Jackie team, and pose for a picture before his Caird Hall gig in 1974.
Before he went on stage to sing in front of his screaming teeny-bopper fans, a DC Thomson photographer grabbed David Cassidy for a photo session during which he settled down to read all about himself in the Jackie. As you can see, his mugshot is on the front cover!
A reminder of some of the eating places on the go in 1981 can be found in an overview presented in Cranked Up, with Egon Boney taking us on a youthful guide to dining out in Dundee.
Influenced by the punk DIY fanzine craze that began in '76, Bruces Record Shop started up their own in-house publication called CRIPES, given away free at the shop counter. The contents consisted of blotchy xeroxed graphics, record info, gig updates and ads.
This short lived fanzine was a precursor to Cranked Up.
This full page spread comes from the Black Echoes music paper dated January 1979 and is another account of the same gig as the previous item - at Le Palace in Paris.
Although this write-up appeared in the Blues & Soul magazine in January 1979, the review is about a show Rokotto did around Christmas 1978.
